When Monica fell ill, Bill was by her side every day. He cared for her and made sure she never felt alone. But when things got worse, and Monica didn’t seem to get better, things started to change. He visited her less and less until, one day, her sister dropped a bombshell on her. Bill was seeing another woman. After that, Monica never saw Bill again. But nobody knew that Bill had one more thing on his to do-list after his wife’s passing. He returned to claim what he thought belonged to him… After hearing Monica was in hospice care with only months to live, Bill didn’t feel sad at all. There was only one thing he could think about, and that was the inheritance. He was still legally married to Monica, even though they had been estranged since he began dating his now girlfriend, Emma. Bill spent months waiting for the obituary to arrive, but it never did. He figured Monica’s sister made sure he wouldn’t receive it, so he wouldn’t get a chance to claim the inheritance. So, he gathered all the important documents he needed and scheduled a meeting with his attorney to straighten everything out. Bill thought he had gathered all of the documents he needed, and walked into the attorney’s office with a smug smile on his face. He would walk out of there a millionaire! However, an unexpected surprise was waiting for him inside. But… why didn’t Monica’s sister tell Bill about her death? Why did Bill think he could claim the inheritance? And what would happen at the attorney’s office? Bill and Monica had been living a happy and healthy life when Monica suddenly fell ill. It happened gradually, with headaches and fatigue at first. Billy never left her side and he was very supportive. But, sadly, no matter how many times they went to the hospital or how many different medications she tried, nothing seemed to help. The doctors were stunned by her rapid decline in health and eventually had to admit her to the hospital. Monica lost her job, her life, and even some of her friends to this awful mysterious disease. But through it all, Bill stayed by her side and visited her every day… At first. Monica felt grateful for Bill’s love and care and she often wondered how she got so lucky. He visited her every morning before he went to work, and he came to her room every evening so they could spend some time and have dinner together. But after she stayed in the hospital for months and she still did not get better, something started to change.  Bill’s visits became less and less frequent, and each time he couldn’t come to see her, he had another excuse. “I slept through my alarm”, “I have to work late”, and so on. At first, Monica understood that he was under a lot of pressure. He was the sole provider of the family, after all… But, there was more to it. She could sense her husband distancing himself from her. Whenever he visited, he kissed her on her forehead instead of her lips. Each day, he showed less and less interest in how she was doing. It hurt her, but deep down, Monica could understand why he acted like this. It wasn’t easy being married to a sick person. She tolerated the scarce visits and his lack of interest. If the roles were reversed, she would probably feel a bit disconnected from him too. But one day, she found out that Bill was hiding something from her. Her sister came to visit her with some very disturbing news. Monica’s sister Isabella had gone to her and Bill’s house unannounced, to catch up on Monica’s health. And she caught him sleeping with another woman… Monica couldn’t believe what she was hearing and wanted to get up and go to Bill immediately, but she became lightheaded and had to lie down again. Monica felt broken after hearing the news. All she could do was cry. She couldn’t go and confront Bill about what he’d done, she couldn’t run away, and she couldn’t even distract herself by going out and meeting other guys! No, she was trapped inside a hospital with her own destructive thoughts.  After Isabella’s visit, Bill never showed up again. Probably because deep down, he knew Isabella would never keep such a big secret from her sister. He moved his mistress into the house he once shared with Monica. Monica expected a divorce letter to show up at the hospital, but it never did… Monica’s health deteriorated further and further, and without the love of her life by her side, she had no motivation left to push through. Isabella tried her best to cheer her sister up, but sadly, she saw no future without Bill. After a year of barely holding on at the hospital, Monica was put in hospice care with only months to live. Isabella was heartbroken and wanted to let Bill know what he had done. In her eyes, he was the reason for Monica’s rapid decline in health. Overcome by her emotions, she drove to Bill’s house and banged on the door. With tears streaming down her face, she yelled at him, telling him about Monica in hospice care. Bill was visibly shocked by Isabella’s sudden outburst and tried to calm her down, but he couldn’t. To finish it off, Isabella threw the bill for hospice care in his face, telling him he had to pay for what he’d done. But little did she know, Bill had something else in mind. As soon as Bill found out that Monica was dying, his mind started racing. That was one thing he had been waiting for ever since he met his new girlfriend, Emma, and it was finally happening. He knew that as long as he was still legally married to Monica, her inheritance and life insurance would be his to take.  You see, when Bill realized Monica’s health was only getting worse, he tricked her into signing a document she thought was her agreement to stay in the hospital. But little did she know, she actually signed a change in her will, created by Bill, making him the sole receiver of the inheritance.  All Bill had to do now, was wait a few more months until he could finally live the life he had always dreamt of. And the worst part was that he didn’t even feel bad about it… He even told his mistress about his devious plan. And Emma’s reaction? She couldn’t wait to quit her job and live off the inheritance, either. Since the beginning, Emma had known what she was getting herself into. Bill had been honest about his dying wife from the start. Well, there was one thing he had lied about: the reason why he didn’t want to divorce Monica. At first, he told her it was because he didn’t want to break the heart of someone who was dying. But later on, he changed his story. And he always told her a different story, so it soon came to a point where Emma didn’t know what to believe anymore. So, she gave Bill an ultimatum. Either he told her the truth about why he didn’t want to divorce his wife, even though he had been dating Emma for six months already, or she would walk out on him.  Only then did Bill dare to tell Emma the real reason why he wanted to stay legally married to Monica. At first, Emma was shocked. How could the person she loved be so cruel? But then she started to think about the different ways she could profit from it in the future, and suddenly, it wasn’t so cruel anymore.  They confided in each other, and their bond only grew stronger with this horrible secret between them. They were truly made for each other, to say the least. By now, it had been six months since Isabella had been crying her eyes out at their door, and Bill grew impatient with waiting.  Bill had expected to receive an obituary by now, but he figured Isabella must’ve made sure he didn’t get one. She had probably discovered Monica’s will and gotten furious — at least, that’s what Bill liked to believe. He had a smug smile on his face thinking about Isabella’s reaction after discovering she wouldn’t get a single dime.  Overcome by his own smugness, he decided it was time to go to Isabella’s house to gloat and ask her about the obituary. But when he arrived, she wasn’t home. There was one thing, though, that caught Bill’s eye. In the driveway stood car that he recognized. It was Monica’s!  Bill was furious. Isabella had kept the death of her sister a secret from him and, as the cherry on the cake, she had taken Monica’s car! It was probably her way of taking revenge on him, for kicking her out of the will. He knew she wouldn’t make it easy for him to get his hands on the inheritance, so he had to take precautions.  He immediately called his attorney and set up a meeting. He knew Isabella had no leg to stand on, as the will could not be changed anymore, but still. He wanted to be sure. His attorney told him to gather all the important documents, including his wife’s death certificate, her will, bank statements, and her insurance policies. So, that’s what he did. He called the banks and Monica’s insurance company. They were a bit hesitant to send the information, which Bill found strange. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one Isabella hadn’t told about her sister’s death. But he was able to convince them, and they sent the documents his way. Bill found it a bit odd that Isabella would withhold such important information from the banks. He had to give it to her; he never expected her to fight so hard for a bit of money. Well, it was more than just “a bit”, but still. He’d always thought of Isabella as the honest one.  Once all the documents arrived, Bill looked through them and noticed that one was missing. It was Monica’s death certificate. He knew for a fact she had died, because he had called the hospice she stayed at, and they told him that there was no one registered there under that name. So… where was the death certificate? Bill realized that there was only one way for him to find out. He just had to do a little digging… Literally. He thought the only possible way to find out if Monica had died, was to exhume her from the grave and see for himself. No normal person would ever think of doing something like that, but hey — this was Bill. He had no idea where she was buried, but he assumed her grave would be close to her parents. She had always expressed how beautiful she found the cemetery they lay at, and this way, Isabella would easily be able to visit her family. It seemed almost too obvious to Bill. The following night, he drove to the cemetery with a shovel in the trunk. He knew the way to her parents’ graves by heart, as he had visited them often when Monica was still alive and healthy. But when he arrived at their graves, he was shocked… He had expected to see a fresh grave next to the one where Monica’s mother was buried, but to his surprise, there was no such thing. For a second, he doubted whether he was standing at the right place. But he double-checked, and the two headstones really had her parents’ names on them. He wondered whether Monica had been cremated instead of buried. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a twig breaking behind him… “You wouldn’t think I would make this easy for you, would you?” It was Isabella. Bill turned around dominantly. “Isabella,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” He smiled at her with that smug smile of his. “I wanted to pay my respects, but I didn’t know where to be. You have a hand in withholding important information, you know.” He took a step toward Isabella and got right in her face. But Isabella didn’t react as he’d hoped.  She stood there, arms crossed and a smile on her face. She looked at him with an expression he hadn’t seen before. She had always been the innocent little sister who looked up to Monica, but now, she seemed the total opposite. The traumatic event of losing her sister had shaped her into someone new, Bill thought. But he didn’t want to reveal the real reason why he was there. Who knows what Isabella would do if she found out Bill was after her? So, he played it safe and went home for the night. If only he had left it at that… But Bill didn’t know how to quit. And especially not with so much money involved.  When he came home, Emma was eagerly waiting for him. “And, did you see her? Was she there, dead, buried in the ground?” It was an awful thing to say, and you would think Bill would mind if someone said that about his deceased wife… But money can make people crazy. “Yes,” he said. “I saw her.” He lied straight into Emma’s face. “I have an appointment with the lawyer tomorrow, and I have everything ready. It won’t be long until you can wear your skimpiest bikini drinking cocktails in the Bahamas, my love.” He smacked Emma on her ass and walked upstairs. Emma couldn’t wait! She had never been rich, so when Bill told her about the money he would inherit as soon as Monica died, she was ecstatic. She was, however, aware of how cruel this all was to the ones on the outside. It looked heartless, and to be honest, it really was. But she wasn’t the Emma she was when she first met Bill. No… The greed had changed her, and not in a good way. She decided to lend Bill a helping hand and arrange all the documents that were spread out on the table. That way, he could easily take them with him the next day. She knew which documents he needed most and which were less important, so she arranged them in order. But when she finished, she realized there was no death certificate. Had Bill lied to her? She shrugged it off by thinking he must have it in his car, the chaotic person he was, and went to bed, not overthinking it too much. However, she couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned that night. He had gotten her hopes up, and she wouldn’t be the person she was today if it weren’t because of his influence. She wouldn’t know what to do if it turned out that his plan had failed, and he wouldn’t inherit a single dime… The next morning, she woke up to an empty bed. Bill had already left, and he had taken all the documents with him. He didn’t even write her a thank you note, but that wasn’t out of character for him. He was never really the lovey-dovey kind of partner.  Bill, however, was happy that Emma had arranged the documents in order; he just didn’t show it. He still missed one of the documents, but he figured he would go to his appointment anyway. How important could that one piece of paper be? Well, as it turned out… Very important. Once he arrived at the lawyer’s office, he sat in an empty room. “He will be with you shortly,” was what the lovely young secretary said to him forty-five minutes ago. “Shortly… Yeah, sure!”, he thought to himself, looking at his watch. What could be more important than his appointment? Suddenly, his phone rang. When he saw that it was Isabella, Bill hesitated. Why would she be calling him out of the blue? All she had done up until now was standing in his way. What could she possibly have to say to him, now that he was about to get his hands on the inheritance?  He decided not to pick up the phone. This was not the time for her childish game. “I won’t make it easy for you,” were the exact words she said to him when she caught him at the cemetery. So this was probably another piece in her play. But Bill wasn’t about to let her win. Finally, the secretary returned. “Follow me,” she said as she turned around and walked away, not waiting for Bill to answer or even get his things. She opened the door to another empty room. “Where’s Mr. Hopfmann?”, Bill asked angrily. “You said he would be here shortly?!” He was slowly losing his patience. “There was an important matter in your case that needed Mr. Hopfmann’s immediate attention. He will be with you as soon as everything is sorted out.” And the secretary walked away, closing the door behind her. Bill was stunned. “If he’s busy with MY case, why aren’t I involved too?”, he thought. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait as long this time. After about fifteen minutes, he heard people talking outside. It sounded like they were coming closer! Hea recognized one of the voices, which was clearly Mr. Hopfmann, but who was the woman he was talking to? Only one person came to mind , and boy, was he irritated to see her. “Hello, Bill.” “Hello, Isabella.” Once again, she had tracked him down. But this time, Bill knew he was one step ahead of her. Since Monica was already dead, her will couldn’t be changed anymore. So no matter how hard Isabella tried to fight it, Bill would eventually inherit all their family’s money. Or so he thought… Isabella had one more trick up her sleeve, and Bill would never see it coming. She sat down at the table, across from Bill, and the lawyer sat at the head of the table. It was silent for a while, and then the lawyer finally said something. “Bill, before we proceed, there is something you need to know.” “You will not leave as a millionaire today,” The lawyer said. Rage built up inside Bill as he let those words sink in. His plan was airtight; there was no way Isabella had found a way around it. “What do you mean?”, he asked, as calm as possible. He knew throwing a tantrum would do him nothing good. “Well, there have been a few… complications. For instance, there is no death certificate and-”  “That’s because of HER!”, Bill yelled as he cut Mr. Hopfmann off. “She is the one withholding information, and now I have to suffer because of it? No, this will not do! That money is mine!”  Bill couldn’t hold it in any longer. He had worked so hard to get all the documents, and he was just too close to let go. But little did he know, it wasn’t Isabella who was in his way. In fact, Isabella was actually just a pon in all of this. Someone else entirely was the mastermind of this mind game played with Bill. “Please sit down,” the lawyer asked him. “There is someone here to see you. All will become perfectly clear very soon. And you might be pleasantly surprised, too.” Bill frowned. Why would he be pleasantly surprised? The only way he would be pleasantly surprised, was if a million-dollar check fell into his lap right now. Suddenly, the office door opened, and the secretary walked in. “She’s here,” she said, looking at Mr. Hopfmann. “Let her in,” he answered. “Let her in? Let who in?” Bill asked. He looked at Isabella and at Mr. Hopfmann. “What the heck is going on here? What aren’t you guys telling me?!” “Oh, Bill, you always had a short temper.” someone said from behind. Bill froze. He recognized that voice from miles away. “Monica?” he said as he turned to look at her. “Wha.. What are you doing here? Weren’t you… You were…”  “Dead?” she said. “I sure was to you, weren’t I?” Bill was stunned. “But how?” He didn’t know how to feel. For some reason, he felt relieved. Maybe he didn’t want to admit it, but you can’t just set someone aside who you’ve loved for so long. But at the same time, his whole plan had fallen apart. There was no way he would ever inherit her money now… After Monica had moved to hospice care, she suddenly began to feel better. Her energy returned, and she started to enjoy life again. Before she knew it, she had made a full recovery and was back to her old self. But she grew suspicious when she heard Bill called the hospice to see if she had died. She had always wondered why Bill didn’t file for a divorce, and his reason soon became clear when she requested to see her will. She found out Bill had tricked her into changing it, and she quickly changed it back. But she didn’t want to tell him, yet. First, she wanted to see him scramble.  It was her way of getting revenge for what he had done to her while she was dying. But now, the fun was over, and he had to know the truth. Monica was alive and well, and Bill wouldn’t get a dime of her money, ever. She presented him with the long-awaited divorce papers, and he had no right to anything anymore. The tables had turned, and Bill returned home feeling empty. His only comfort was that Emma would be waiting for him to console him and make him feel better. Or so he thought. Because when he explained to her that she could kiss the Bahamas goodbye, she was furious. Emma packed her bags that same night and left Bill. Now, he was all alone and broke, with nothing to his name. It was what he deserved, and Monica didn’t feel bad for him in the slightest. She only hoped he would be able to learn from his mistakes—the end.